Analyzing SeaStar Medical (NASDAQ:ICU) and Embecta (NASDAQ:EMBC)

SeaStar Medical (NASDAQ:ICU) and Embecta (NASDAQ:EMBC) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends and earnings.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for SeaStar Medical and Embecta, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SeaStar Medical	1	0	1	0	2.00
Embecta	2	3	0	0	1.60

SeaStar Medical presently has a consensus target price of $8.00, indicating a potential upside of 113.33%. Embecta has a consensus target price of $11.00, indicating a potential upside of 234.35%. Given Embecta’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Embecta is more favorable than SeaStar Medical.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

1.7% of SeaStar Medical shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.8% of Embecta shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.7% of SeaStar Medical shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.3% of Embecta shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares SeaStar Medical and Embecta”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
SeaStar Medical	$1.23 million	12.20	-$12.15 million	($4.80)	-0.78
Embecta	$1.08 billion	0.18	$95.40 million	$1.90	1.73

Embecta has higher revenue and earnings than SeaStar Medical. SeaStar Medical is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Embecta, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

SeaStar Medical has a beta of -1.05, indicating that its stock price is 205% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Embecta has a beta of 0.83, indicating that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares SeaStar Medical and Embecta’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SeaStar Medical	-828.62%	-146.29%	-96.48%
Embecta	10.73%	-23.96%	14.12%

Summary

Embecta beats SeaStar Medical on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About SeaStar Medical

SeaStar Medical Holding Corporation, a medical device company, develops a platform therapy to reduce the consequences of hyperinflammation on vital organs in the United States. The company offers inflammatory response to fend off infections and repair damaged tissue in the body. It is also developing products in various therapeutic areas, including pediatric and adult acute kidney injury on CRRT; cardiorenal syndrome in congestive heart failure; myocardial stunning in end stage renal disease; and hepatorenal syndrome. The company is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.

About Embecta

Embecta Corp., a medical device company, focuses on the provision of various solutions to enhance the health and wellbeing of people living with diabetes. Its products include pen needles, syringes, and safety injection devices, as well as digital applications to assist people with managing patient's diabetes. The company primarily sells its products to wholesalers and distributors in the United States and internationally. Embecta Corp. was founded in 1924 and is headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey.